Thiel Owners

Merry Christmas! ALL

Hey thanks!
I guess I wrote all of the above to think out loud, and what I'd really like to hear is opinions on current stereo amplifiers for 2.3s with an emphasis on music. 

It looks like the brands I'm familiar with (I've been out of the loop for 15 years, haha), Krell, BAT, Classe, all have current, hi-current offerings.  But I see others, like PS Audio and Emotiva, that I've never heard of.

Questions about the proper amp for Thiel speakers come often up here. I would answer such a question by inquiring what is your standard and weakest link in the chain. I have yet the standard for myself to have a resolving chain of 16 bits or better, which translates to a thd+noise of each component better then 96 dB. With a streaming source of music or a high quality cd player, the (pre) amp becomes the weak link. Here is a link to a database of amplifier measurements by 3rd parties.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZlTOYxmPs938gqHjtDABkWS-MApu7uJjzIGnJ2Elm6Y/edit?usp=sharing
Benchmark leads the list and hypex based amps are well represented near the top. For the diy, the plate amps of hypex are a great and affordable option to have a complete digital chain from beginning to end. 

I don’t think my audire forte should be leaping to 1v on start up and shut down.

Thielrules - thank you for posting that amp list. There is a fairly widespread belief among audio pros that audiophiles prefer distortion to provide qualities they call "fullness, richness, lushness, warmth", etc. I must confess that it took me quite some time living with the Benchmark AHB-2 to appreciate its lean directness as being correct. I now delight in its simple clarity and hear other amps as adding artifacts. 
I am using a PS Stellar Gain Cell DAC/Pre. It's nice, but PS gear lands pretty far down the list. I am coveting a listen to the Benchmark DAC/Pre. Is there a similar list of preamps?